It's time to talk about Spider-Man: Homecoming's two post-credits scenes.
SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't seen the movie, read this article at your own risk.
In the final battle, Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland) faces Adrian Toomes/Vulture (Michael Keaton) after Stark Industries' private plane crashes in Coney Island. Following a big explosion, he saves his foe from certain death, removing his mask and mechanical wings. He then leaves Adrian for the police, securing him to the debris (thanks to some clever web-work).
A little later, he turns down Tony Stark/Iron Man's offer to join the Avengers in order to be a "friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man" and look out for the "little guys" in his native Queens, N.Y.
And then it's time for the post-credits scenes.
Previously, audiences met a criminal named Mac Gargan (Michael Mando) during the Staten Island Ferry battle. In the first post-credits sequence, Mac—who has a Scorpion neck tattoo—confronts Adrian in prison, saying he blames Spider-Man for his injuries and wants revenge. He heard a "rumor" Adrian knows the web-slinging hero's identity, but Adrian doesn't sell him out.
"That's what is cool—he gets a moment of redemption and he gets to protect Peter, even though Peter would never know," says director Jon Watts. "It's his way of saying, 'Thank you.'"
"It was a really interesting thing in the development of the story," Watts tells Entertainment Weekly of giving Keaton's character more depth. "You couldn't just rely on the tropes of the villain being a murderer and killing a bunch of people. He had to be redeemable in some capacity in the end and that he believes everything he said, especially about his family. So it was a really fine walk to create a villain that still has that moment of redemption in the end."
And the open-ended post-credits scene also implies Adrian "could come back," Watts teases.
As for Mac, Watts says the door is open for him to return in a larger capacity. "I haven't really planned anything beyond this movie. But it is nice to have that potential. There are so many things that could be a nice jumping off point for the next movie, and he's definitely one of them," he tells Cinema Blend. "Michael Mando's such a great actor, too. It'd be fun to explore."
The second post-credits sequence is not plot-relevant—but it is pretty funny.
Captain America (Chris Evans) delivers another PSA, just like the ones Peter and his friends saw in gym class. This time, he debates the value of patience—specifically, how sometimes it pays off, and sometimes it doesn't (like when Marvel fans stick around for spoilers that never come).
It was the second wink to Ferris Bueller's Day Off, one of the summer blockbuster's inspirations.
Spider-Man: Homecoming is out now 2D, Digital 3D and IMAX 3D.